LATEST ADDITIONS

I see a pattern taking shape: Roy Gandy's Rega Research offered their first CD player in 1996, which was 13 years after the medium was introduced to the public. Now, in 2006, some 50 years after Joe Grado designed and sold the first moving-coil phono cartridges, Rega has released one of those. The year 2016 may see the first Rega fluoroscope, or perhaps wire recorder. And it'll be a good one, I'm sure.

A cabal of record labels&mdash;including Arista Records, Warner Bros., Capitol, and BMG&mdash;have taken legal action against the Russian music site <A HREF=http://www.allofmp3.com/>allofmp3.com</A&gt;, charging that the site offers their music without having received permission. The suit, filed in federal court in New York, is only the latest step in the war against the Russian digital download site.

Two days after reaching $1.5 million settlements with the states of Texas and California over its knuckleheaded attempt to prevent "unauthorized" use of its CDs, Sony BMG agreed to pay another $4.25 million to an additional 39 states and the District of Columbia in what has become known as "the rootkit debacle."

Well, folks, the week's made it to a close, and my plan &#151; Did I mention my plan to post a daily entry about some product that I'd be reporting on during CES, or were you able to discern what I meant to do without my having to say it? &#151; failed. Yeah, that plan, like so many other 2006 plans, came to an abrupt end soon after it began. I'm beginning to think that some people just aren't made to make plans. And I might be one of those people. Though a plan can be symbolic of so many wonderful things, and I think it's those things that I'm really attracted to &#151; the act of making a plan, to my mind, holds no special charm &#151; the things which have brought the most joy to my life came with no clever plan. They were big, beautiful surprises.

The finale of the 1963 American Folk Blues Festival. Otis Spann and Memphis Slim on piano; Big Joe Williams, Sonny Boy Williamson,Lonnie Johnson, Victoria Spivey, and Muddy Waters sing; Matt "Guitar" Murphy, guitar; and Bill Stepney, drums.

I find my logic compelling, but Bagheera doesn't buy it&mdash;she thinks DVD players make excellent perches.

"Are you lonesome tonight,
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Do you miss me tonight?
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Are you sorry we drifted apart?
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. . .
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Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare?
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Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?
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Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?"